The three Rs used to be the staple diet of most schools. Now at Ringmer Community College there are the two Es; education and the environment.

This school will be the first in the country to be a technology college specialising in sustainable development and eco-friendly technology. It will not be the last.

Surveys of schoolchildren show that generally they are more concerned about the environment than their elders, probably because they will have to live in the world for longer.

At Ringmer they will be encouraged to look at the environmental effect of everything people do, ranging from using renewable sources of energy to reducing pollution.

Now that the World Wide Fund for Nature has become involved in the project, it will want to persuade other schools to follow Ringmer's example to a greater or lesser extent.

It's not easy to forge ahead with science and technology and benefit the environment at the same time. But at Ringmer, everyone has confidence it can and will be done.